Germany's credit to ECB sets new record in December

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's credit toward the European Central Bank set a new record in December as money flowed into the euro zone's strongest economy for a sixth straight month, albeit at a slower pace, ECB data showed on Wednesday.

Germany's net claims on the ECB hit 754.2 billion euros ($813.7 billion) in the final month of 2016 according to the Target 2 data, which tracks cross-border payments in the euro zone.

The German inflows are testament to its strong exports but also reflect savers' preference for parking their money in what is perceived to be the euro zone's safe haven while banks in countries such as Italy are under pressure, and anti-euro sentiment is on the rise.

As these payments are not settled by national central banks, their total amount represents the money that each of them would have to pay or receive from the ECB if the currency club dissolved, as ECB President Mario Draghi recently said in a letter to two Italian lawmakers.